Research on parent-child attachment and parental child rearing practices has been pursued independently. The purpose of the present study was to test whether a secure attachment relationship is related to parental monitoring and child efforts to contribute to the monitoring process. This question was examined in a cross-sectional study of third- and sixth-grade children and their parents. Attachment-based measures were used to tap child and parent perceptions of attachment. Monitoring (i.e., parents' awareness of children's whereabouts and activities) was assessed through phone interviews with children and parents. Child contributions to monitoring were assessed with parent and child questionnaires. A more secure attachment was related to closer monitoring and greater cooperation by the child in monitoring situations, especially at sixth grade. The findings illustrate the importance of embedding attachment within a larger child rearing context.

Although a number of measures have been developed to assess parent-child attachments, validity data on middle-childhood measures are lacking. The present study tested attachment-based measures of parent-child relationships designed for the later middle-childhood years (9-12 years of age). Self-reports from children assessed perceptions of security and avoidant and preoccupied coping. Some children also completed a projective interview assessing attachment state of mind. Mothers and fathers reported their willingness to serve as an attachment figure and were rated for responsiveness. Data were collected from a cross-sectional sample of 3rd and 6th graders and their parents. A 2-year follow-up on the younger sample provided data on the stability of the measures. There were modest associations across the different measures and moderate to high stability. The attachment-based measures were also related to teacher ratings of children's school adaptation.

Two studies examined the relationships among polyvictimization (i.e., high cumulative levels of victimization), six categories of childhood victimization (i.e., property crime, physical assault, peer/sibling, witnessed/indirect, sexual, and child maltreatment), and current psychological symptomatology in college females. Results indicated that exposure to multiple types of childhood victimization is common. Regression analyses revealed that polyvictimization accounted for a significant proportion of variability in scores for psychological distress beyond that accounted for by any victimization category alone. Moreover, the six categories separately accounted for little to no variability beyond that accounted for by polyvictimization. Finally, polyvictimization accounted for a significant proportion of variability in scores for psychological distress, beyond that already accounted for through the simultaneous entry of all six categories of victimization. Findings reiterate the importance for clinicians and researchers to comprehensively assess multiple categories of childhood victimization and polyvictimization and provide preliminary evidence that the total number of lifetime victimizations is at least as important, if not more important, than individual categories of victimization in predicting psychological distress.

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This study examines the relationships among poly-victimization (i.e., high cumulative levels of victimization), six aggregate categories of childhood victimization (property crime, physical assault, peer and sibling, witnessed and indirect, sexual, child maltreatment), and college adjustment in females. This study first examines the relative contributions of poly-victimization and individual categories of childhood victimization in predicting college adjustment. The study then examines whether poly-victimization contributes any unique variance, beyond that accounted for by the combination of all six aggregate categories. Regression analyses reveal that a) poly-victimization accounts for a significant proportion of variability in scores for college adjustment, beyond that accounted for by any of the six categories of childhood victimization alone, and b) the categories of childhood victimization contribute little to no variability beyond that accounted for by poly-victimization. Furthermore, poly-victimization accounts for a significant proportion of variability in college adjustment, beyond that already accounted for by the simultaneous entry of all six categories as predictor variables. Finally, although victimization does not predict GPA, it predicts other domains of college adjustment. Results suggest that counselors working with college students should a) assess multiple categories of victimization and poly-victimization, and b) evaluate clients' adjustment to college across multiple domains (e.g., academic, social, interpersonal).